


No Deathbed for Me

by revior



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Community: theoldguardkinkmeme, Crying, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Minor Character Death, Post-Movie: The Old Guard (2020), Prompt Fill, Sad, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26216722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revior/pseuds/revior
Summary: years after the action of the movie, Nile visits her mother on her deathbed to say one final goodbye
Relationships: Nile Freeman & Nile Freeman's Mother
Comments: 7
Kudos: 76





	No Deathbed for Me

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is filling out [this prompt](https://theoldguardkinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/2726.html?thread=560550#cmt560550).
> 
> I hope this is how you imagined it!

"Nile? Is that really you?" asked Mrs. Freeman. She tried to sit up, but her attempt resulted in a loud grunt.

"Yes, it's me. I heard what was happening so I came to say goodbye..."

Nile's Mother closed her eyes and a tear slipped out and down her cheek. "You're not really here. You died thirty years ago. They were serious and entirely correct when they told me I was losing my mind."

"Who told you that you were losing your mind?"

"Your brother did. And the doctors. They were right; weren't they? I mean, you look exactly like you did before they sent you off and you got killed," pointed out the sick woman. "Why am I seeing you now, after all these years? Why not back when everything I wanted was to see your face again?"

Nile let out a quiet sob. Booker warned her that things would go like this, but she never thought that seeing her beloved Mother again would hurt more than the first time she died. She couldn't wish for anything but to be able to transfer her 'gift' to her Mother, to watch her be filled with joy and life again, but they all warned her that things couldn't go like that.

 _Maybe if we let Merrick conduct the experiment until the very end,_ thought a part of her, but Freeman quickly pushed that thought away. She shouldn't think like that. Her friends were tortured for something that would probably never see the light of day. And she knew that if she let Merrick live that day, things would be entirely different for all of them, including her.

"You're not losing your mind, Mom. I'm here because I never actually died. I know that you probably don't want to think of it this way, but I had to stay away from both of you to keep all of us safe."

"I don't understand, Nile."

"Mom, I'm still here and very much alive."

The sick woman started sobbing and shaking her head, and even if it must've hurt, crying wasn't enough to show how she felt at that moment. "Stop. I don't need my mind to play more tricks with me. Your Father visited me the other day, now you. What did I do to deserve all of this?"

"Mom, you didn't do anything wrong," objected the younger Freeman, coming closer and holding her Mother's hand. She pushed the thought that it felt as if she were holding the hand of a skeleton away. "You lived a life free of sin and me being here isn't a punishment. I came here to say goodbye to you one final time."

"I don't want this anymore, I just want the pain to end."

"If I knew how to end your pain I would, Mom. I would do anything to help with the pain you're feeling right now. I don't want you to hurt like Dad hurt or like I hurt," _or like I hurt the first time around_. She didn't say those last words, of course, in fear of shocking her own Mother even more. She already had enough to think about, her dead daughter coming back to her, and all she needed was to know that her daughter felt that same pain Mrs. Freeman was feeling numerous times. "It's all going to be okay, Mom. I promise you."

Mrs. Freeman opened her eyes again and looked at her daughter, eyes full of hope. "I'm going to see your father, right?"

"Yes, you are," lied Nile. She didn't know if Heaven and Hell existed, but she did know that it would make the sick woman's thoughts a bit easier as she waited by her side. "And then when the time comes, you'll see both me and your son. And we'll all be together. Forever."

"I haven't seen my husband in decades. All I want is to be able to hold him in my arms again and tell him that both our children are alive and well on Earth."

"And when the time comes you'll be able to tell him that."

"Hold both my hands, Nile. Please." Mrs. Freeman's voice was full of hope and her daughter did as she was asked to. "You're so full of warmth. Just like you were when I said goodbye to you all those years ago. I can't believe some officers tried to convince me that my daughter died on a battlefield. You don't know how hard I cried, Nile. I wept for months..."

"I'm- I'm so sorry you had to go through that," mumbled the girl. "I didn't know it was that bad for all of you."

"Your brother buried himself in work when he heard the news. He said that as a man he shouldn't cry and get emotional, even at times like that. I cursed him, told him that you wouldn't care if he was a man or not, only that he showed signs of memory of you. It took him a while to go to your grave after the funeral, you know? But I'm proud that he did."

"Thank you for being there for him when I wasn't."

Mrs. Freeman held her daughter's hands with a slightly more firm grip than before. "I waited for someone to tell me that it was all a joke for a long time. My heart skipped a beat every time the phone rang, thinking that you would be on the other side. When the doorbell rang too. Oh, I was so disappointed every time I opened the door and saw someone other than you standing there."

"I should've called, but I wasn't allowed to. I know I should've. I shouldn't even be here, but I had to come to talk to you. I'm just glad I got the news, before, you know..."

"Don't worry, Nile. I know what's going to happen. I have to admit, I am scared of it, but I know that nobody can live forever, not really. Some live a lot longer than others, but in the end, all our fates are in the arms of something bigger. God for me, other Gods for others, and for some it's the universe. I'm just glad I have something to believe in, and I'm glad that something allowed me to see my one and only daughter one last time."

Freeman wasn't sure what to say. Her mother changed so much in the thirty years, and yet deep inside she was still the same woman. There was a knock on the door that made Nile jump.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, I just came to say my goodbyes," answered Nile, quickly recovering from the light startle that the knock caused her. She turned around, and immediately recognized the face of the man standing in front of her. Although a lot older, her brother's eyes, nose, and mouth stayed the same. And the way he styled his hair still hadn't changed, which made him even easier to recognize. "I'm leaving, though. I'll leave you some time alone with her."

"No, don't leave," objected Mrs. Freeman, a worried expression on her face again. "I just saw you, I don't want you to leave again so soon."

"I really have to go," replied the girl, standing up from the bedside chair she found herself sitting on. She wiped her tears and said one final goodbye to her Mother before exiting the room. She took a deep breath outside of the room, wiping the rest of her tears and attempting to breathe normally.

"Who was that?" she heard her brother ask. "The two of you seemed close."

"That was Nile. She came to say goodbye."

"Mother, Nile died thirty years ago."

"But I saw her. I know you're going to call me crazy, but I know that's her. A mother knows her children and I know that was Nile."

The girl couldn't handle it anymore, so she quickly left the hospital. It really was exactly like Booker said, and she could say that she finally believed him after experiencing the entire thing by herself.

Minutes later, even though Nile wasn't there to see it, Mrs. Freeman's heart monitor let out a loud sound that sent nurses rushing in. About a minute later, they wrote down the woman's time of death, her son right by her side.

But even if the woman's death wasn't fast or peaceful, the corners of her mouth were turned upwards at the thought of once again seeing her daughter and reuniting with her husband.


End file.
